# Is "Notes Toward a Supreme Fiction" by Wallace Stevens a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Notes Toward a Supreme Fiction by Wallace Stevens (Cummington Press, 1942) is identified by: Fine-press hand-set letterpress first edition of 273 copies: 80 signed copies numbered I to LXXX on Worthy Hand and Arrows paper, 190 unsigned copies numbered 1 to 190 on Dutch Charcoal paper, and 3 lettered copies on Highclere paper. US Cummington Press first edition; precedes the poem's later collection in Transport to Summer (1947).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Fine-press hand-set letterpress first edition of 273 copies: 80 signed copies numbered I to LXXX on Worthy Hand and Arrows paper, 190 unsigned copies numbered 1 to 190 on Dutch Charcoal paper, and 3 lettered copies on Highclere paper
- The signed numbered copies are the premium issue
- Publisher imprint reads Cummington Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Wallace Stevens |
| Publisher | Cummington Press |
| Year | 1942 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Fine-press hand-set letterpress first edition of 273 copies: 80 signed copies numbered I… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Fine-press hand-set letterpress first edition of 273 copies: 80 signed copies numbered I to LXXX on Worthy Hand and Arrows paper, 190 unsigned copies numbered 1 to 190 on Dutch Charcoal paper, and 3 lettered copies on Highclere paper. The signed numbered copies are the premium issue.

## Is this the true first?
US Cummington Press first edition; precedes the poem's later collection in Transport to Summer (1947). The signed limited issue is the true collectible first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book club edition.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Notes Toward a Supreme Fiction* by Wallace Stevens a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/notes-toward-a-supreme-fiction
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-03.